This invention relates to apparatus for processing crops and particularly for cutting, conditioning, and windrowing standing and downed crops such as hay and grasses and for cutting standing crops such as corn, sorghum and cereal. Compressing and feeding such latter crops to a second crop processing device such as a forage harvester may also be accomplished.
The desirability of auger cutters to cut standing and downed crops has previously been recognized. Such cutters are efficient and generally less susceptible to jamming or plugging and damage than the well-known sickle bar or rotary blade types of cutters. Prior art crop processors include many devices showing auger type cutters of various configurations for various purposes. A prior art cutter or processor developed especially for use with hay is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,554. Prior art cutters for hay had cutting and handling disadvantages and also could not adequately cut and handle large crops such as corn. The cutting mechanism of this invention has been improved in both cutting and handling over the prior art. The crop transfer mechanisms included in this processor are also advanced over the crop processor shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,554 and the references cited therein. This processor and crop transfer mechanism is an advancement over the crop processor shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,342 and the references cited therein.